Fort Boise

“ Some of the more noted of these forts were Fort Hall near Pocatello, Fort Boise near the mouth of that river, Fort Colville north of Spokane, Fort Walla Walla, now Wallula, and Fort Vancouver, the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Com- pany.
The fur traders were our nation's first great topographers. There is not a river, a creek or a branch which they did not ascend and descend repeatedly not a mountain, a range, a hogback or a hill which they did not cross not a pass which they did not find, a wilderness which they did not penetrate, or a desert which they did not cross. ”

“ The air is so foul from the stench of decaying cattle, the water of the little river is so warm, and the heat so intolerable that sickness and death must soon ensue if the conditions do not change. It is no wonder that we see many graves by the roadside. Most of them are the last resting-places of mothers who have mercifully fallen asleep and been buried, often with their babes in their arms.
“August 21. Old Fort Boisé lies opposite our camp, away beyond and across Snake River, looming in the distance like a mediæval fortress from the midst of a gray, dry moat. ”

“ Some relics of the old fort at Boise were secured, arrangements made for planting a double inscribed stone to mark the site of the fort and the Trail, and afterwards, through the liberality of the citizens of Boise City, a stone was ordered and doubtless before this put in place. ”

“ Did not move camp. Very hot sun succeeded by a heavy shower ; was fearful it would continue all day ; but at length it cleared away, and I collected the people and gave them a sermon.
28. Camped on the river De Bullo.
29. On Malheur.
30. Arrived at Boise.
31. Was engaged writing letters. Evening, crossed over to the Fort, and wrote till a late hour. Musketoes troublesome. Slept in the Fort.
June 1. Left Fort Boise, came a few mi. to Owhyhee River ; waited till the canoe arrived from the fort, crossed, and camped. Careless men upset one load. ”

“ Louis to Fort Vancouver, Doctor McLoughlin, who then ruled this country with imperial sway, being familiar with its physical condition, well knowing that the country was rich in agricultural resources, and believing its future sovereignty secure to the crown of Great Britain, saw in the person of Mr. Lee a devout Christian, an educated and energetic man—one especially qualified to enlighten, develop, and improve the settlement of his Hudson's Bay employees, which he had planted on the rich prairie lands in what is now the northern part of this county. ”

“ Like all American forts, it was formed with earthen ramparts, covered by rich green turf, and defended by tall stockades of dry white timber. Within were seen the shingle-covered roofs of the low barrack buildings, tarred and painted black, and all glistening in the sunshine. Two of the lower bastions were faced with stone and washed by the azure water of Lake George, while a deep fosse secured the fort on the landward, and dangerous morasses protected its flanks. Beyond lay a cleared space, where the timber of the old primeval forest had been cut down for garrison purposes. ”

“ The old fort, long neglected, and subject to the assaults of wintry blasts and beating storms, rises high above the Plain, and there, in grim majesty, it patiently awaits the silent march of disintegration and general decay. Approached in the mellow light of an evening sunset, when a single pencil of rays lingers and illuminates the crests of the mountains in the east, and a few scattered clouds, tinged with scarlet, gold and silver tints, fading and blending in perfect harmony with the deep blue of the firmament, indicate the close of the day ”

“ It is the centre of an agricultural and mining district, and has large stock-raising interests; it is one of the most important inland wool markets in the United States, and controls a large general trade with southern Idaho. Water derived from the Boise River is utilized for irrigation, and also for power in the manufacturing industries. ”

“ The Governor, his beautiful wife, and their guest, Natalie Ivanhoff, have knelt at the jewelled altar.
At the right of the Fort is a small "town" of rude huts which accommodates some eight hundred Indians and Siberian convicts, the working-men of the company. Above the "town," on a high knoll, is a large grist-mill. Describing an arc of perfect proportions, its midmost depression a mile behind the Fort, a great mountain forms a natural rampart. At either extreme it tapers to the jagged cliffs. ”

“ In many of these, in most, in fact, one or more men were killed and a greater number wounded. Not a wagon train bound for Montana could pass up the Bozeman trail, which ran under the walls of the fort, and for the protection of which it had been established, without being attacked again and again. Only the most watchful prudence, the most skilful management, and the most determined valor, prevented the annihilation of successive parties of emigrants seeking the new and inviting land.
The war with the Indians was about the ownership of territory, as most of our Indian wars have been. ”

“ For many years stock wandered across the parade to nibble of the grass once trod by drilling soldiers—rats and other small animals inhabited the barracks and officer’s quarters. Decay and erosion set to work in earnest in an effort to destroy the old fort. It appeared that the once proud adobe walls would become a part of the soil again and that Fort Garland would be only a memory in the minds of a few old soldiers who had made the garrison their home. ”

“ It needed but one man to turn aside the flame attack: Lieutenant Bazy, straight and upright like a god, amid the smoke, in the middle of the corridor, his left arm in a sling, his right arm hurling bombs, barring the way to the foe. It needed but the commandant, a few officers and N.C.O.’s, a handful of picked men, to ensure, amid all these sufferings, the maintenance of a single idea, a single aim: to hold out.
The fort is cut off from the rest of the world, its last pigeon was sent off on the previous day, and its signals have not been transmitted. ”

“ It is there, towards the village, over against those hillsides, over against Damloup, that the enemy’s onslaught was shattered. And the fort, on its plateau, with its superstructure half crushed, with breaches in its double wall, seems like the formidable hulk of an ironclad which still floats upon the waters, not yet abandoned by its crew. ”

“ Those who have read the pitiful tale of the rear column will no doubt be curious to know how we re-entered Fort Bodo, which was only garrisoned with fifty-nine rifles, after six months’ absence. With my heart filled with joy and gratitude I was escorted up the western avenue, glad men leaping around me like spaniels, the Doctor imparting the most cheery news; prosperous fields of corn on either hand, and goodly crops everywhere; fenced squares, a neat village, clean streets, and every one I met—white and black—in perfect health, except a few incurables. ”

“ Soon the beating and blowing came from half a dozen directions.
"They are gathering, sure enough!" exclaimed Joe. "I wonder how long it will be before they fire the first shot?"
"They'll not be rash—be sure of that," answered Darry. "They must know that the fort is a strong place."
A little later one of the guards announced that bodies of Indians were marching from the south of the fort to the westward.
Here there was a fringe of trees at a distance of not over a hundred yards from the stockade. ”

“ The Indians were now at the ditch, and one had advanced as far as the stockade itself. They were yelling like demons, and now the desperadoes began to show themselves, confident that the fort would soon be taken.
They haven't got a corporal's guard to defend it!" cried Matt Gilroy. "Nearly everyone of those inside is sick. Come on!" ”

“ These forts were defended and protected as well as circumstances would permit. They would have been but as houses of cards in the warfare of civilized men; but they were of service against the simple tactics of the savage. A blockhouse of solid timber, with rude barracks, a magazine, a well, the whole surrounded by a high stockade with loopholes, — such was the wilderness fort. They were designed to admit of communication with each other, and so with the centres of civilization, whence from time to time supplies and reinforcements for their garrisons might be brought to them. ”

“ If you drew in your breath quick from the top of a hill you felt a great man. Ridley, the chief trader, and myself have come to the Fort on our way to the Mackenzie River. In the yard of the Fort the grass have grown tall, and sprung in the cracks under the doors and windows; the Fort have not been use for a long time. Once there was plenty of buffalo near, and the caribou sometimes; but they were all gone—only a few. The Indians never went that way, only when the seasons were the best. ”

“ The fort was held with a garrison of 557 men, of whom 262 were colored soldiers of the 6th United States Heavy Artillery. The Union commander refused to surrender.
“Upon receiving the refusal of Major Booth to capitulate, Forrest gave a signal and his troops made a frantic charge upon the fort. It was received gallantly and resisted stubbornly, but there was no use of fighting. In ten minutes the enemy, assaulting the fort in the centre, and striking it on the flanks, swept in. The Federal troops surrendered; but an indiscriminate massacre followed. Men were shot down in their tracks ”

“ The plateau, which affords ample space for all military evolutions appertaining to artillery, infantry, and cavalry, is bounded on the west by lofty and rugged hills, at the base of which are situated the various Academic buildings, the Cadet Barracks, and the residences of the officers and professors.
Proceeding on to the West Point Hotel, an old fort is seen on the north-east angle of the plain, known as Fort Arnold, until the treason of the apostate became exposed, when the name, thenceforth unknown in American history, was changed to Fort Clinton. ”

“ When Peck awoke he felt stronger, and readily partook of the meal brought to him, washing down the meat with some water from the brook.
"What do you calculate to do now, captain?" he asked.
"From the top of yonder hill I can see the fort in the distance," answered the young officer. "But how to get to it is a question. It would be a hard enough journey as it is, without having to be on guard against Indians and desperadoes." ”

“ Tonty and his combined army had not yet returned from the Iroquois war; and those who had stayed at home to protect the fort and villages found no invaders to molest them. Boisrondet, the commissary of the fort, was busy with the fields of the French. The Indians, too, planted their crops and tended them. The braves visited the little garrison from time to time, hunted and fished some, gambled with cherry-stones more, and basked in the sun most of all. ”

“ Fort Boisais was established in 1832, as the post whence to oppose Wyeth's operations at Fort Hall. [203] From it, the Hudson's Bay Company sent their trading parties over {115} the country south, in advance and rear and around every movement of Wyeth. And by using liberally the fund laid by annually for that purpose, they undersold the American till he was forced from the country. ”

“ The appearance of the fort is very striking, standing as it does hundreds of miles from any settlement, on the vast and lifeless prairie, surrounded by hordes of hostile Indians, and far out of reach of intercourse with civilised man; its mud-built walls inclosing a little garrison of a dozen hardy men, sufficient to hold in check the numerous tribes of savages ever thirsting for their blood. ”

“ During that winter we had been stationed there, escorting the Santa Fé mails and giving what protection we could to travel on the roads to New Mexico and the Pike's Peak gold region. By the following spring (1860) , the War Department had ordered a permanent post established at or near "Camp Alert," to be called Fort Larned. This post was built by the two companies of Second Infantry that were sent to relieve us, while we, joining Major Sedgwick's command from Fort Riley, went on the Kiowa expedition. ”

“ It was dark long before we had neared Fort Douglas and the waters swished past with an inky, glassy sheen that vividly recalled the murky pool about the beaver-dam. And yet I had no fear, but drifted along utterly indifferent to the termination of the freakish escapade in which I had become involved. Nature mercifully sets a limit to human capacity for suffering; and I felt I had reached that limit. Nothing worse could happen than had happened, at least, so I told myself, and I awaited with cynical curiosity what might take place inside the Hudson's Bay fort. ”

“ To see a fort is naturally supposed to be not the most formidable of undertakings; but to see Fort Fisher means a ride of miles over the bleakest of sand bars; means the climbing of great heaps of sand, under the hottest of suns; means a scrambling over irregular chasms and precipices of sand, where the explosions have destroyed at once every semblance of fortification and every foot of solid earth—means all this, prolonged for hours, under the penalty of the consciousness that otherwise you would be pretending to see Fort Fisher, when you were doing nothing of the sort. ”

“ Here he dealt in skins, furs, and peltries, accumulating a large amount of property, as the Fort was a stopping-place for all the emigrant trains bound for Salt Lake City and for California. He remained true to his Blackfoot wife, and several half-breed children made life merry in the long, low log-hut which the scout had erected as his abode. The famous plainsman lived to a ripe, old age—like most of the early trappers—and was ever ready to tell of his battle with the Sioux, when he rescued his four companions from their clutches. ”